


Back To Back

by rusticshrubs



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Kidnapping, M/M, Manipulation, Torture, keith and lance basically get captured together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2018-02-13
Packaged: 2019-03-17 16:42:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13663074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rusticshrubs/pseuds/rusticshrubs
Summary: Lance’s voice rang through the comms.“We’re in, Shiro! We- what the quiznack?”The black paladin’s tongue felt like it had just been rubbed against sawdust. He licked his lips as sweat trickled down his face. “What’s wrong? Keith!”He heard the red paladin make a confused noise before the comms shut off between them.“Lance? Keith?” Hunk whispered out. Dread built in his chest as he desperately waited for a reply. Nothing came.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> title inspired by my song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmadVlJZo7I
> 
> hope yall enjoy this! second chapter is almost finished :D  
> i love comments! please comment!!

**CHAPTER 1**

  
  


Daibazaal was in tired ruins, crumbling as the battle de-escalated. The planet had been long destroyed, deformed and reduced to a saddening state from its abandoned millennium surface. The exterior was a painted blush of fuchsia and burned orange, sections crusted into various shades of color. Somehow it still held up, not being completely disintegrated by the graciousness of the Altean king. He had kept sympathy for his brother in arms in his heart, not bearing to fully erase the planet’s existence from the eyes of its habitués. He had a kingdom of his own, which was later destroyed along with the man himself. A courtesy to go down with his ship, his country. 

 

The homeland of the Galra was deserted a long, somber time ago. Misunderstandings, bitterness, and unforgiving hatred had besieged Emperor Zarkon soul, morphing him into a monster of a former man. His calculating wife, now a sly witch, stood loyally by his side as they died. 

 

The Voltron defenders had managed, after a long and ferocious battle which left them gasping for breath, to stab Zarkon through the heart with their sword. The man coughed out crimson blood, after a moment of whispering pain to his wife who lay still on the ground below him, as the sword was pulled through his chest with a concluding metallic groan. 

 

He stood there, eyes shadowed by his wrongdoings, and died. 

 

The revelation of corrupted destruction the man had caused the universe, the pain and horror many had been forced to witness, it had all ended with the stab of a sword. The heart was a fitting place to wound. Many would say the Galran had no heart, or he had lost it in the battle somewhere when he punctured his friend through his own. Others predicted it was because of his wife’s own death, so his heart was taken with her, along with their sanity. 

 

Behind the prejudice and bias of the man, he must have realized in his last hours of light that everyone had a heart. Within those hearts, all had the same red blood which was shared through every race. The blood that was shed in his foolishness trickled down his armored chest.

 

It was only darkness and void-filled eyes which kept them alive, if they were truly living. Love kept those with beautiful souls breathing, and since neither Zarkon nor his witch kept it close, they were akin to walking demons. No longer loved, no longer giving love. They were hollow creatures, without any reason for power except to plague the metagalaxy. 

 

The paladins panted heavily as the sword was sheathed, and the robot split back into its five components. 

 

“Is… is it over?” Hunk whispered through the comms, voice laced in tension. The yellow lion flew still, floating above the ground where the pair of Galran royalty lie dead. 

 

Shiro let out a deep, shaken exhale. “Is everyone alright? Lions all working?” 

 

They paused, not daring to take their eyes off of the creatures, as if they’d suddenly awaken, lashing out like a horror movie jumpscare. 

 

As time passed painfully slow, the paladins waited nervously until it seemed too long for the dead to be alive. They sighed together, relieved beyond belief. 

 

“We did it, guys. We actually did it.” Lance said, the solace and consolation carried in the slouch of his shoulders as he breathed out. He let his rigid white knuckles release the grip on his controls as he smiled.

 

“So, now what?”

Keith spoke up softly, almost a whisper. He sounded unsure and lost on what to do, questions on his tongue. His eyes drooped and he leaned forward slighly. The red paladin’s lion had been quite damaged throughout the fight, and the boy himself was nearly falling asleep. 

 

“Let’s go back to the castle, team,” Pidge said, thrusting her lion forward in the direction of home. Hunk, Shiro, Lance and Keith followed in order, like soldiers returning from battle. With honor, bravery, and unexplainable joy. 

 

They swiftly landed into their corresponding bays, and walked out with shaking limbs and heads held high. Allura’s normally calm voice was tensed and worried, and she called out on the intercoms.

 

“Paladins?” 

 

Coran stood by her side, looking equally exhausted, waiting. The poor man had picked at his mustache so nervously he barely had any left to salvage. 

 

“Pods are ready for usage, paladins. If anyone is injured, I’ll get you in there in a jiffy!” 

 

Only silence answered the advisor. His head whipped around from the microphone at hearing the familiar  _ schwip  _ of the door opening. 

 

The five people shuffled in, and to the princess’ surprise, they were laughing. 

 

High fives were exchanged, bubbly giggles came from Hunk as he jumped up and down with bayard in hand, and Sam and Matt Holt stood by Pidge’s side. She was grinning like the hero she was, looking flustered as her family members complimented her. Matt was giving her fluffy head-pats, and Sam had given her his jacket, which was now hanging off of her small shoulders. They looked complete, but obviously restless to get back to her mother. They couldn’t imagine what she felt now, alone at home with the belief that all of her loved ones had died. But all that mattered now was that they were together, alive, and happy. 

 

Shiro looked so tired, but he had a messy smile on his face. His eyes were filling with tears, which was surprising to Allura. He seemed like the type of man to never cry, no matter what life threw at him. It was nice to see him crying in relief, and not anguish. He rubbed his neck and went to talk to Coran. Said man was already planning their return to Earth, excited to see what kinds of food they’d have. He had heard there were also _ male  _ Kalteneckers there. Intriguing. 

 

The red and blue paladins were the ones exchanging high fives, to Allura’s amusement. They had finally learned to work together, it seemed. They were laughing, happier than she’d ever seen them. 

 

They all congregated into the center of the room when Coran called them over. The Blade of Marmora also entered the room, to much of their surprise. One of them nodded in recognition to Keith, the former member. The half-Galran returned the gesture, and turned to face the group again. He seemed to be avoiding eye contact with the Blade.

 

Allura rose up onto the Altean stand, head held up. She brushed off her dress and cleared her throat.

 

“Paladins, Blade members, rebel fighters. We have ended a war that has been believed to be completely one sided for ten-thousand long years. We pushed past our differences and joined together to destroy Zarkon. May the fallen Alteans and creatures who were victims to his violence rest in peace. We have won.” 

 

Allura spoke shakily, and tears were rolling down her face. She couldn’t seem to hold back her joy. As she finished, she wiped her stunning blue eyes of tears and looked at Shiro.

 

“Shiro, you have my deepest thanks. Without you and your team, this would have not been possible.”

 

Shiro nodded, smiling. He acknowledged the other groups of fighters, and eyed his team. Lance struck a pose, and Keith facepalmed. Hunk and Pidge fist bumped. They were all fatigued, but alive and well it seemed.

 

Looking down at his bayard, he smiled, “I guess we won’t be needing these anymore.” 

 

Before another word could be said, a violent bang was heard on the side of the castle. 

 

People shouted, bodies forcefully brushed to one side of the room. Some gripped the sides of the walls to stay steady. The Blade of Marmora members leaped up to the sides of the castle, bodies weary from the fight before. Kolivan moved his eyes to the source of the blast.

 

A purple battalion appeared in the blink of an eye, and Prince Lotor’s disgustingly silky voice echoed through the walls. 

 

“Paladins, Blade members, rebel fighters. I commend you for defeating my father. It has been long due for his demise. However, if you do not surrender the castle and all of the lions, I will not hesitate to fire. Everything you have learned to love will be destroyed.” 

 

It was so sudden, and everyone in the room stood frozen. No one dared speak. 

 

Allura fell to her knees, and Coran dropped down next to her. He supported her back while staring outside of the massive glass windows. The ships were surrounding them fully, leaving no room for the lions to escape without them being immediately blasted into the side of the castle. 

 

Hunk gave Shiro a panicked look as the black paladin stared up at the ships, numb. The light of the ships cast a shadow on his face, creating a purple shine in the man’s eyes. 

 

In the time people were recovering over the blast, Allura had stood up, brushing off Coran’s fussing to look Lotor right in the eye with a furious glare. 

 

“ _ You!”  _ She screamed, raising the Altean pedestal. Placing her hands above each pillar, ready to materialize the particle barrier, her eyebrows slanted down in hatred.

 

“We had a peaceful alliance, Lotor! How  _ dare _ you betray our trust!” Allura fumed as the hand symbols began to glow under her fingers. Coran stepped back, eyes filled with worry. He looked to the ships, then to Allura, and back. 

 

Keith rushed up to the transmission of Lotor’s smug face, and growled. “Lotor, I hope realize we just defeated your father. You shouldn’t be much harder.”

 

Lotor smirked, looking mildly inconvenienced. “Oh? But I am not my father, ignorant paladin. I am not a foolish powerseeker as he was, nor am I a shameful witch like my wretched mother. Surrender now, or face the consequences.”

 

Lance spoke up slowly, raising his hands in a  _ calm down  _ motion. “Which are…?” 

 

The prince moved his eyes to fixate on the blue paladin, expression morphing into an odd curiosity. He seemed to recognize the color from when Allura was flying Blue, or else he would have not shown such interest. 

However, behind it all, there was a sinister undertone which the teenager found unsurprising considering all Lotor had done. Lance squirmed under his gaze, suddenly uncomfortable for reasons unknown. 

 

Lotor grinned and gestured politely to his battalion. “You will have to defeat my army. If you are prepared, perhaps you, blue paladin, should face  _ me _ yourself.”

 

Lance stepped back slightly, settling his arms to his sides while balling his hands into fists. His expression went stone cold, and he said nothing as he turned his gaze to Shiro.

 

The green paladin nervously stepped in front of her father and brother, who were still standing by the door.

 

“Shiro? What do we do…?” Pidge seemed to be reading the Cuban’s mind as she fixed her eyes on Matt before looking at the scarred man. 

 

The black paladin stepped toward Allura, placing a hand on her shoulder. She gave him a thankful look, and returned her irate gaze back to the Galran. Shiro cut her off before she could yell at the man any longer.

 

“Lotor, we can work out a compromise. We all want to go back to our home planets, so why are you stopping us? What do you want out of this?” Shiro spoke calmly, but held an iron grip on his bayard. He seemed desperate out of all of the exhaustion behind his dark eyes. 

 

The Altean prince shifted, obviously not expecting such a response. He paused for a moment before tugging his lips downward in anger. 

 

“Perhaps this is not what I was expecting.” 

His eyes slanted.

 

“Battalion, fire all weapons!”

 

Almost immediately, everyone inside the castle moved. It was a desperate scramble for time, and they couldn’t afford to lose.

 

“Activating particle barrier!” Allura shouted out as people scrambled to get to their ships, running through the doors as the paladins sprinted to their lions. She felt fear crawl up her throat at the size of the Galran forces. The barrier materialized in front of the ship right as Lotor fired his beam. 

 

As the lions activated, the Blade of Marmora and various rebel fighting groups leaped into their ships and immediately left the castle. Allura opened up a selective area of the barrier so they were able to exit. She moved her head to speak to the paladins, who were preparing for battle.

 

“Exit to the south side of the barrier, I’ve opened a spot for the lions! Hurry, I can’t hold the barrier if Lotor keeps firing at us!”

 

The paladins yelled out affirmatives as the lions shot out of the castle, looping around in flurries of color, quickly going through the closing the princess had made.

 

Shiro shook his head in frustration before speaking. 

 

“Okay team, I know we’re exhausted, but if we do this we’ll be able to put an end to the Galra empire! Let’s finish off Lotor once and for all! We  _ have  _ to pull through, not only for ourselves, but for the universe!”

 

The rest of the paladins nodded and agreed. 

 

They flew around the side of the castle just as Lotor was preparing another blast, and formed Voltron in a flash of blinding light. The massive shield retaliated against the powerful attack, and the team gritted their teeth against the force.

 

“Ugh, this is powerful! What does he make those from?” Hunk yelled as they were tediously pushed back from the laser. It was closing in on them, coming closer to the ship. 

 

Voltron shook under the stress of the energy, blasting the boosters full force.

 

“It doesn’t matter, but we really need to do something about this pushing! At this rate, the force of the laser is going to reflect off of the shield and hit Allura and Coran!” Pidge shouted and thrusted with her controls to no avail as Lotor came closer. 

 

“Allura, you have to move the ship or you’ll be hit again! We can’t afford breaking the particle barrier!”

 

“Wait, guys,” Lance breathed, perspiration beading in droplets on his forehead. “We need to go back into our lions and hit parts of Lotor’s ship separately! That’s all that will work, if we stay in Voltron, we’ll either be pushed back to the castle or be forced to break the barrier. Neither of those sound very good!” 

 

Shiro paused for a moment before considering Lance’s plan. Lotor was still persisting.

 

Hunk stopped them, pulling the yellow lion back. 

“Whoa-whoa-whoa! Wait! We need to move the ship before we disassemble! They’re going to get hit again!” 

 

“Shiro!” Keith grunted out, working Voltron’s arm against the impending blast. 

 

Suddenly, a sharp, thin beam hit Lotor’s laser cannon so it was forced sideways, shot into blank space. The force of the movement destroyed a cluster of single Galran fighters in the process. 

 

“W-whoa! What was that?” Lance stuttered out, blinking his eyes in shock. 

 

In the direction where the shot was fired was a Marmoran ship, guns out and bright. 

 

“Kolivan!” Keith yelled, temporary relief flushing his face. 

 

“Guys!  _ Focus! _ ”

Pidge frantically separated from Voltron, causing all of the other lions to do so as well, swerving around Lotor’s ship while avoiding shots from fighters. “He shot the cannon! We don’t have much time before they reposition it!” 

 

The other lions followed her, Blue going under the ship to aim, with Red cornering the left flank. Shiro took the front, and Hunk swung around the end of the ship. Lotor seemed to realize what they were doing, because more cannons began to raise from the metal exterior to aim at the lions. Lance yelped out as a shot grazed Blue, and flipped to avoid a second one. 

 

“Is,” Lance grunted out, “is it just me or is he only targeting Blue?!” 

 

Another shot.

 

The Cuban teenager cursed underneath his breath, indignant. The lasers kept coming, like they were tracking his movements somehow.  _ What was going on? _

 

“I swear, the guy has something against me!” 

 

“That’s just human nature, Lance. Or  _ Galran _ nature. To your right!” Keith shouted after him, accustomed to keeping the other teenager in his peripheral vision during most of their battles. He had a slur to his voice as he spoke, fatigue becoming more overbearing as each moment passed. The red paladin spun his lion around to shoot a blast at the left wing of Lotor’s ship before nearly getting caught in the explosion. 

 

Lance barely dodged the next shot, before thanking the raven shakily. “O-oh. Thanks, Keith.” 

 

“You got it.” 

The raven nodded, even though he knew the other boy couldn’t see him. 

 

“Great job, Keith! One wing to go, guys! Pidge and Lance, distract the cannons underneath and above so we can have a clear opening! Hunk, Keith, you guys help me get the next wing. We have to be quick before they recharge the blasters,” Shiro ordered, flying his lion expertly around various fighter ships. He shot them down as he reached the remaining wing.

 

“Ready? Now!” 

 

The paladins worked quickly as Lance and Pidge flew around recklessly to move each cannon’s sensors away from their teammates. Hunk flew underneath the moving ship, now trying to shake them off. Shiro flew above, aiming at the large wing.

 

The black paladin slowed down for a moment, causing the other team members to pull back in confusion. 

 

“My lion isn’t fast or agile enough to aim precisely. We need to slow him down!” Shiro frantically dodged more bullets. 

 

“I’ll do it, Shiro! Let me do it,” Lance hollered, yelping as he flipped under a blast.  _ Blue was getting beat up pretty bad. _

 

Shiro hesitated before nodding, allowing Lance and him to switch places. There was no time to falter, he needed to trust his team as they trusted him. 

 

“Remember, aim for the area closest to the ship! We need the entire wing to fall off to immobilize Lotor.” He yelled for moral, sweat dripping from his chin. 

 

He trusted Lance, but the truth was that they were  _ kids _ , younger than Shiro himself. Seeing them injured or hurt was like reliving memories of Matt in the arena. Too much, too young. Shiro had been exposed to Lance’s precise shooting before, but was still skeptical even after saving Slav. Maybe it had been a devil’s luck, but… there was a chance it was skill. And skill was something he believed Lance had much of. Most of Shiro’s concerns had withered away when he caught Lance in the training area shooting. Each shot hitting exactly where it should be.

 

“Okay, guys. Your  _ A-class Sharpshooter  _ is on the case!” 

 

Someone groaned, but Shiro was too pumped with adrenaline to notice who. It was now or never. Lance  _ needed  _ to make the shot. 

 

In a flick of time, the blue paladin had flown up side-by-side to the Galran ship, frighteningly small in comparison to the lion. They were going to make it, they were. Lance breathed in for a moment as time slowed down. 

 

His pupils dialated, and he aimed his lion’s weapons at Lotor’s ship. 

 

The shot was a clear hit, and Shiro exhaled. Lotor’s right wing exploded, and Lance cheered. 

 

“Heck yeah, right on target!” He grinned, moving his lion from the wreckage. The red lion flew up next to him.

 

“Wait, Lotor’s still in there, right?” Keith said unsurely, whipping his lion around the debris. “We need to take him out!” 

 

Hunk rammed into a cluster of fighters, kicking off from the blown up scraps. 

 

“Guys, a little help? These fighters are really fast for my lion and its… brute strength.”

 

“Yeah, I don’t know how much longer Green can hold up!”

 

Shiro heard more explosions in the background of Hunk and Pidge’s comms, and anxiety crept up his spine. 

 

“Keith, Lance! You two have the fastest lions right now! We need to go into Lotor’s ship and capture him.”

 

“Whoa,  _ us?  _ Like,  _ only _ us?” Lance tilted his head back in shock. He gave the black lion an incredulous stare. 

 

Only them would mean two lions unoccupied and fighter drones everywhere. Their lions would not only be trashed, but stolen as well. It would also require Lance and Keith on a mission together, which wasn’t exactly… cooperating.

 

“Yeah, Shiro, I think we need the entire team for this. We’ll definitely need your fighting skills.”

 

“Hey, rude,” Hunk grunted in aggravation.

 

Pidge agreed, shaking a fighter off of her lion’s tail. It exploded in a flash of light. 

 

“Yeah, we’re good at fighting too, Keith. Just so you know.” 

 

The red paladin ignored them and threw his head over his shoulder as he called for backup. 

 

“Kolivan! Matt! Can you cover our lions while we go into his ships?”

 

He heard an affirmative from both men, as a blur of ships branched off from Allura’s particle barrier.

 

“Alright, Lance and Keith, fly your lions by the outside of Lotor’s ship. Make sure to use the escape pods to reach the surface. Lotor is going so fast you’ll have to get a good grip on the metal when you land. Pidge, Hunk and I will follow after you make it inside. We’ll be right behind you.” 

 

Lance was struggling to keep up with the ship next to him. It was going as fast as it could, he assumed. A light blue color floated around the exterior of the boosters, resulting in a misty aura. 

 

“Whoa, hey! What happens to our lions while we leave? We can’t just  _ keep _ them there! They’ll be destroyed,” Keith gritted out while floating above the ship. Red was fast, but Lance could tell he was slowly falling back.

 

“Coran? I think… uh. You can fly Red back to the castle. You’ll have to get a ship ready to fly out here.” 

 

Keith immediately regretted saying this as he heard a muffled cheer behind the intercoms. It was Coran. “Leave this to me, number four!” 

 

“Whoa, what about Blue?”

 

“Allura’s protecting the castle right now. If we take the particle barrier down, it’ll be broken!”

 

Distanced explosions gradually became fireflies in the sky as they chased after the ship. 

 

“But it’ll just be for a tick. She’ll be able to park Blue and go back up to the Altean float-y thingies.” 

 

Shiro seemed hesitant as he allowed Allura to abandon her post. She would be able to fly to where they were, grab Blue, and go back to the castle. Easy. 

 

“Alright, Princess. You can fly out here, but be careful. There’s a lot of debris and Lotor’s ship is still moving. He’s unstable and can’t turn, but he seems to know what he’s doing. 

 

Allura and Coran reached their pods and confirmed the plan. The ginger man seemed much too excited for this. Hopefully Red would let him pilot, if there was any strength left in the lion to oppose. 

 

Shiro tensed his body, preparing himself.

 

“Team, let’s do this! Lance and Keith, are you two ready? We’ll be right behind you as soon as they grab your lions.”

 

The two teenagers nodded as Lance thrusted his lion to full power by Lotor’s ship next to Keith. 

 

“Now!” 

 

Immediately, the blue and red paladins exited their lions in fighter pods, floating down to the surface of Lotor’s moving ship. They wavered for a moment from the motion of speed they were going, but managed to adjust their landing to the moving of the purple ship. 

 

Their lions slowly dragged themselves back from Lotor and reached Coran and Allura’s pods. 

 

After a brief moment, they shouted out confirmations. “We made it! Proceeding back to Matt and the rebel fighters. They split off to protect the castle.” 

 

Shiro nodded.

“Lance and Keith, cut into the ship! As soon as Allura and Coran make it back with your lions safely we’ll repeat the process with ours so we can follow,” he ordered while glancing over to look at Pidge and Hunk. They were still fending off fighters. 

 

The teenagers used their blasters to cut into Lotor’s ship, causing a small explosion they had to pull back from. As soon as it happened, they hopped in the ship and ditched the pods. It was so much pressure, they both almost fell off of the surface while jumping. 

 

Lance’s voice rang through the comms. 

“We’re in, Shiro! We- what the  _ quiznack? _ ”

 

The black paladin’s tongue felt like it had just been rubbed against sawdust. He licked his lips as sweat trickled down his face. “What’s wrong? Keith!”

 

He heard the red paladin make a confused noise before the comms shut off between them. 

 

“Lance? Keith?” Hunk whispered out. Dread built in his chest as he desperately waited for a reply. Nothing came. 

  
  


_ BANG! _

  
  


A thundering explosion rumbled through the Altean castle. The floor shook in spurts as pieces of debris fell from the control room crystal. The glowing hue of the massive jewel faded to a tombstone grey while it shuddered from the shock of the bomb. Each tumultuous rock of the ship made it jolt from its original position even further, until it finally fell to the floor with a  _ crack! _

 

No one currently stood within the castle, either fighting or escaping the Galra. Allura gasped as she and Coran entered the room with helmets and space suits. If they had been there when the blast hit, they both would have died. 

 

“How could this happen?” She whispered, nearly inaudible. Activating her jetpack, she scanned the area. The explosion had cut off all energy, darkening the entire castle. She could hear Shiro’s frantic voice, distorted and warped in her ears. Coran flew up to her, and muttered a curse under his breath. 

 

“Someone must have placed a bomb here without us noticing… but who?” The advisor said, squinting his eyes in the low lights. Explosions of rebel fighters and the Blade were still lighting up the sky, bright in contrast to the now destroyed main room of the Altean ship. Lotor and the lions were nowhere to be seen. 

 

Allura’s eyes widened. 

“It must have happened while Lance and Keith jumped out of the lions. Lotor must have snuck a drone inside one of them!” 

 

Coran looked equally shocked, and flew to the broken window. “Princess, we must find the Balmera to repair this mess. Perhaps Rolo and Nyma will be happy to accomodate us. After all, we did answer their distress call.”

 

Allura nodded.  _ What a sad day, for Voltron to be the ones calling for help. _ She was drowning in hopelessness. They had won against Zarkon, and the moment they thought it was over, more violence came. It was endless, and all she wished for was her father. King Alfor would have known what to do. 

  
  
  


Shiro and his group were not doing so well, either. 

 

They were frantically following Lotor’s ship in the dark space around them, stars blurring into lines of white as they accelerated.

 

Pidge and Hunk were calling for the teenagers inside of the ship. It had lost two wings, so it could only go one direction, and yet it was still flying extremely fast. 

 

“Lance! Keith! Come on, answer us!” Hunk yelled achingly, flying next to Shiro. The black paladin was trying to connect as well, but had a feeling no one would answer. 

 

Lance and Keith were stuck inside with Lotor, and they were most likely being held captive. Shiro’s heart raced, thumping along with the movement of his lion. He didn’t know what to do. The fear came with the unknown, and what he knew the Galra were capable of.

 

_ If Lotor escaped, would he do the same things to his teammates as Zarkon did to him?  _

 

“Oh, no,” Shiro murmured.

 

Suddenly, with no warning, the Galran ship began to slow down. The older man pulled up on his controls, directing his Lion backward. Hunk and Pidge did the same.

 

The green paladin furrowed her eyebrows, almost relieved. She knew what Lotor was going to do, probably. “What- Did he change his mind or something?”

 

Hunk shook his head, “Nah, I don’t think so. Looks suspicious.” 

 

“Keith, Lance, can you hear us? Do you copy?” Shiro scanned the ship, now fully stopped. It was beaten up, almost inoperable. If Lotor was surrendering, then it must be against his will. His ship might be broken completely. 

 

Then, a light flashed in front of the lions. It was slightly transparent, like a holographic message. Lotor’s face appeared, smug as ever. His sharp teeth shone with his grin, and the paladins tensed. 

 

“Lotor! What have you done?” Shiro called out, using his lion’s microphone. It echoed through the transmission, reaching the white haired man. 

 

“Oh, I’m just taking what’s rightfully mine, Black Paladin. You must not understand that these brats entered  _ my  _ ship. I am only keeping what was given to me,” Lotor smirked, a laugh on his lips. 

 

In the background, Shiro could almost see two people tied up around the waist and shoved in a corner. Their armor reflected shades of red and blue. 

 

_ Lance and Keith were trapped.  _

 

Galran officers seemed to be blocking the exit, standing in front of the two paladins. 

 

Pidge slammed her hands on her control panel, shouting. “Your ship’s broken, Lotor! Give it up. We can easily destroy your ship with three lions!” 

 

“Oh, I don’t think it’s broken. I just came to offer you a deal. You wouldn’t want to blow up your friends.”

 

Shiro’s eyes widened.  _ Bargaining with lives.  _ The Galran prince gestured to Lance and Keith’s crumpled forms. 

 

“If you go on your way and hand over the lions to me, I will leave your precious comrades alone. If not… well, we’ll see.” 

 

Lotor’s violet pupils shone, and he moved his hand to the two paladins who were stuck in the corner. With the snap of his fingers, the Galran officers grabbed the boys and dragged them to the camera. They looked beat up, Keith sprouting a nasty shiner while blood trickled down Lance’s scalp.Their paladin armor pieces were scratched and broken in some parts, and they lay unconscious. 

 

The prince turned his eyes back to the transmission and smirked. 

 

“So, an exchange it is, then?”

 

Pidge and Hunk were silent. Shiro felt frozen, at seeing the two teammates beat up and unconscious on the floor of that dirty ship. The ship where he was tortured before, where his arm was taken. He shuddered, and looked down at his bayard. 

 

Allura and Coran weren’t answering, the rebel fighters and Blade were still holding off drones, and two paladins were captured by one of the most manipulative people in the universe. After they formed an alliance with him to defeat his father, he immediately turned on them. They should’ve expected this.

 

Everyone had their suspicions of him at first, but they had all come together to defeat Zarkon. Shiro thought it was going to be over, but more problems arose. 

 

_ When will it end _ ? He thought. 

 

“Shiro,” Pidge spoke softly, with fear he never wanted to hear in the young girl’s voice. She sounded so vulnerable and lost. Hunk stayed silent. 

 

He breathed in slowly before revealing a fiery gaze. 

 

“You’ll have to go through us, Lotor.”

 

Lotor’s eyes slanted. Shiro saw his hand move to one of the buttons on his control panel. 

 

“So be it.”

 

Chaos ensued. 

Instead of firing straight on, Shiro looped around one of the more damaged flanks of Lotor’s ship. Blasts were being shot toward his lion, and he expertly dodged while shooting down each cannon. There were about thirty on each side, rare for such a ship, but he assumed Lotor was smart enough to make his own personal adjustments. 

 

Pidge and Hunk followed, trying to destroy as many sources of firing as they could. 

 

If they could jump in and grab the two captured teenagers, they might be able to escape unharmed. With the rapid firing, they couldn’t afford hitting any area which could trigger a series of explosions. The goal was to get Lance and Keith back without any extra injuries, and certainly no burn marks. They were also without helmets, so after they blew up, they’d also suffocate if that didn’t kill them initially. It was morgue and dangerous, so the three paladins tried to make do. 

 

Lotor’s ship began to move again, slower this time, and Pidge tried setting a tracker on it. The robotic bug flew to the side of the ship, before immediately getting blown up at the surface. Too much was going on to focus on a simple tracker. Pidge knew that it could save her friends’ lives if they didn’t make it out. Even so, it was in vain. 

 

The ship halted, and the transmission appeared again quickly. The prince looked furious, and Shiro’s blood went cold as he held up one of the boys. 

 

“If that is how you wish to proceed, say goodbye to your red paladin.”

 

Lotor lifted a knife to Keith’s throat, pulling back his black hair to reveal his beaten face. 

Shiro panicked.

  
  


“ _ Stop _ !” 

  
  


The blade paused, a string of pearled red bubbling mid-cut underneath. The Altean raised an eyebrow, hot eyes glaring at the black lion expectedly.

 

“Wait, just- don’t hurt him. We’ll give you the lions.  _ Don’t hurt them,”  _ Shiro warned, face weary. They were so  _ young. _ He couldn’t live with himself if he let a nineteen year old die at his decision.

 

Lotor grinned, throwing Keith down to the floor once again. He turned around and switched off the transmission. 

 

Shiro took that as their cue to hand over the lions. He nervously exited Black and saw Pidge and Hunk tentatively do the same. They were floating out in space with only their space suits and jetpacks. 

 

After a tick, Lotor’s huge ship creaked as it opened up prepared bays. 

 

The black paladin glowered.  _ This had been a trap. Lotor knew this would happen.  _

 

“Shiro? What now…?” Hunk said as he saw Yellow being pulled into the confined space, a pained frown on his lips. Pidge looked over to Shiro as he talked, distraught.

 

“We need to find Allura and Coran. We’re getting them back as soon as possible.”

 

Lotor lowered the massive black lion into his ship, and caught Shiro’s eye in the process. His heart pounded.

 

“We  _ have to. _ ”

  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Keith, we need to get out of here. I have a feeling this isn’t going to end well.” Lance sighed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yay! second chapter up! :DDD  
> please comment, i love feedback!

 

Keith awoke to a pounding headache and an aching split lip. His vision was blurry as he opened his eyes, feeling cold pressure against his skin. 

On one side of his face he could sense a bruise sprouting, and let out a defeated sigh. His eyelids drooped as he glanced around, the musty darkness blinding his senses. 

 

Turns out, the weird coldness on his arms was  _ chains _ . He was chained to a wall. 

 

_ Great _ .

 

He looked down at his body, not feeling the familiar tug of his paladin suit on his skin. Keith discovered that he was wearing a plain white t-shirt that was slightly too big for him, passing his waist a couple of inches, and a pair of black leggings that reached his ankles. He was barefoot, and tried to move his ankles to discover they were also chained. 

 

The chafing on his skin was uncomfortable, as was the incessant dripping water that pooled by his toes. He looked to the ceiling, and it was covered in a damp layer of decaying moss.  _ Not safe at all. _

 

Keith’s breath hitched as he realized he wasn’t alone, and listened closely as ragged breaths echoed softly around him. He squinted to the cell across the hall to see a familiar brown fluff of hair. 

 

_ Lance. _

 

“Wake up, Lance.” Keith tried, voice much rougher than he’d expected. He needed water, but he guessed he’d have to make do for the moment. Clearing his dehydrated throat, he yelled as loud as he could. It sounded the volume he used for his normal talking voice, but at least he could hear himself. 

 

“Lance!” 

 

The breathing stopped for a terrifying moment before the brunet threw his head up in the air and disgracefully hit it on the wall behind him. The wall shook, and Keith flinched. 

 

_ Ouch. _

 

“Ouch!”

The boy yelped, looking disoriented and in pain. 

 

Keith noticed for a worrisome moment that Lance was bleeding from his head. The crimson liquid was smeared across his face, shining from the dim purple lights of the room. Thankfully, it didn’t seem to have come from the wall. He would have been guilty, but he didn’t feel so bad at the moment. 

 

The red paladin wouldn’t want another experience with an unconscious Lance. 

 

The Cuban boy looked up from his cell, eyes panicked. 

 

“What’s going on? Keith?” He said, leaning himself forward to squint at the red paladin. It was so dark that Keith could only see the outline of Lance’s body, slivers of light bouncing against his skin. 

 

“Yeah, it’s me,” Keith commented, scanning the room. It was a stone grey room with violet lanterns hung up on each wall. He could see some sort of vine climbing the wall, a dark green color with leaves. 

It looked like a... what was it? 

Poison Ivy?

Keith had taken a class on botany before dropping out second semester. The class was boring and virtually useless, but at least he remembered  _ something _ . 

 

The jail cells seemed as if they were circling a table with straps in the center. Keith scowled, wrinkling his pale nose. _Prisoners were forced to watch torture._

 

The room smelled like a mix between wet wood and the saltwater of an ocean. If they were trapped down here, Keith assumed they were in some sort of underwater chamber. 

 

He tried recalling past events which led to their capture, but couldn’t remember anything past defeating Zarkon and entering the castle.  _ What had happened to them? _

 

“Uh, dude, you’re zoning out. Earth to Keith.  _ Space  _ to Keith, over here,” the blue paladin gestured to himself, eyes wide. He waved as much as he could with his arms behind him, sticking out his fingers to get Keith’s attention.

 

Keith rolled his eyes, but it hurt to do that so he stuck with a scoff. 

 

“Do you know what we’re doing here? At all? Because I don’t remember anything,” the red paladin asked.

 

Keith saw Lance’s face twist into something indistinguishable before speaking. 

 

“Wow, I would’ve taken ‘oh, it’s Lance’ or even ‘why are  _ you  _ here,’ but all I get is questions I can’t answer. Keith, we’re in a suspicious looking jail cell and I can’t really help you out.” 

 

The teenager looked down at his body, then back to Keith.

 

“What the  _ heck _ am I wearing?” Lance paused as he tried to gesture his arms before continuing, “I’m chained to a wall, too.”

 

“Fair enough,” Keith sighed. 

 

“Oh man, is your face okay? That looks like it hurts,” Lance hissed after squinting in the darkness for a moment to make out the dark purple bruise on Keith’s eye. 

 

To ignore the weird feeling that Lance was  _ concerned about him _ , he wisely retorted. 

 

“Uh… you’re bleeding from your head, Lance.” 

 

_ Smooth, Keith. _

 

“I am? Oh.” Lance moved to touch his wound but remembered that his hands were chained. 

 

“Aw. This sucks,” he said with a lot less emotion than Keith’s would’ve expected.

The red paladin raised his eyebrows. 

 

Keith would surprisingly prefer a loud Lance over a monotonous, tired Lance. 

The raven supposed he wasn’t much better when it came to expressing his 

emotions. 

 

He bit his lip.

“Okay, um. We need to find a way out of here.”

 

He saw Lance raise his head, looking defeated and miserable. The corners of his lips tugged downward in a frown. 

 

“No kidding, buddy.” 

 

Keith returned the miserable gloom. “So, neither of us can remember anything that happened? Nothing  _ at all? _ ”

 

“I can kind of remember bits and pieces,” Lance said, sounding unsure. “Like, we stabbed Zarkon, and then we went to the castle and Allura did this heartfelt speech thing…”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“I think that’s when someone else attacked the castle.”

 

Keith felt his memories muddle together into an incomplete picture. Memories of a white haired Galran prince who may or may not have destroyed their ship.

 

He shook his head, feeling helpless.

 

“ _ Lotor _ . It was Lotor.”

 

He stared at Lance, who somehow managed to look as cheerless as possible.

 

They were trapped in a dangerous torture chamber and were being held captive by the son of the late Emperor Zarkon who managed to rule sections of the galaxy undisturbed for ten-thousand years.  _ Wonderful. _

 

“Keith, we need to get out of here. I have a feeling this isn’t going to end well.” Lance sighed.

 

“If your wound is dry than we’ve been here for a while at least. Is there anything to help us get out of these chains?” 

 

“Uh, maybe try pulling?”

 

“I’m not superhuman, Lance.” 

 

_ Well, he was half-alien… so, kind of? _

Keith gave the chains a half-hearted tug, and shrugged at Lance when he realized he wasn’t getting anywhere. It was worth a shot if there was a chance he would grow some cool Galra muscles. 

 

“I don’t want to die here, Keith,” Lance whined and hung his head. 

He looked up after a beat and made puppy dog eyes as he stared at the black haired teenager, as if he’d be able break the bars of the cell with his willpower alone. 

Keith felt something inside of him melt as he was betrayed by his emotions.  _ Why are they doing that? _

 

He cleared his throat, and mustered the energy to use his brain.

 

“Okay. Lance, you try something. Maybe there’s a key somewhere around here.”

 

Lance laughed, his voice sounding much less scratchy than Keith’s. “This isn’t Zelda, Keith. I doubt there’s a key for every problem that’s thrown at us. It’s not that simple, my man.” 

 

“Zelda _? _ What’s that?” 

 

Keith was confused, and Lance gasped in offense. He then tilted his head and grinned. 

 

“Only one of the most best-selling video games of all time! Maybe we can find a copy at another space mall. Good stuff,” he said. 

 

“Oh. I guess I never really played video games before.”

 

Lance looked sad, raising an eyebrow as he eyed Keith. “Buddy, that’s a shame. I’ll show you when we, uh, get out of here?  _ If _ we get out of here and make it back to Earth…” 

He trailed off, downcast.

 

“We’ll get out. We will,” Keith tried to sound reassuring, but could barely convince himself. 

 

Maybe it was because Keith was orphaned at a young age, or because he never really tried to get his hands on electronics, but he had never had much of the things other kids did. 

 

_ One _ , being  _ parents _ , except when someone decided to adopt him, but usually they ignored him or got bored of his stoic demeanor. It was like they were waiting for him to slip up, and he rarely did. He wanted to warn them that he wasn’t an object on display to fawn over, nor was he an emotionless brick wall. 

 

_ Two _ was that he didn’t make many friends before. It had driven him to close up, become the quiet mystery everyone thought he was because he knew after he opened up he’d get boring, and they’d leave him. 

 

The family he stayed with most of his life had left him hanging. He had believed that one day they would turn their gazes from their biological children and look at him, but by then he had graduated and ditched. It had been bitter, but he promised himself he’d never go back to them if they just wanted to despise him.  _ He had grown to despise himself a bit, after that. _

 

Keith knew he had a temper, and he tried hard to hold himself back most of the time. Nearly every time he lashed out or yelled he would always regret something. Whether he hurt someone, or he was being unfair to them, his fiery tongue still managed to burn. Even if they were at fault, they managed to turn around and spit fire back in his direction. He supposed it was unjust, but never had the strength to start fights with anyone unless they approached him. 

 

Keith was pulled from his thoughts as he heard footsteps echo from the hallway by their cells. They were getting closer, louder, so he decided to whisper. His throat hurt.

 

“Lance, do you hear that? Someone’s coming.”

 

The boy across from him lifted his head, looking exhausted. Keith felt how Lance appeared. He seemed to have forgotten for a couple of heavenly moments how tired he was after the battle with Zarkon. 

 

“Yeah, man. I hear it,” he said. 

 

They both turned their heads as the footsteps stopped a couple of cells from theirs. Keith listened closely as voices spoke in hushed murmurs, slowly building in crescendo. 

 

Lance made eye contact with Keith, pupils impossibly bright in the blackness.  _ They would get out of this _ . 

 

The shadowed figures stopped, and just as Keith’s brain was about to explode from the suspense, they continued to walk down the hallway. 

 

In half of a beat, a face appeared in front of his cell.

 

Keith jumped, eyes widening as he made a strangled noise. 

 

“Whoa!” 

 

“ _ Silence, red one _ !” A voice boomed.

 

“Who are you?!” Lance screeched out, looking equally as shocked as Keith, pushing as close as he could to the wall chaining him. 

 

Keith took a deep intake through his nose and exhaled out of his mouth. He looked up again, and was forced to witness one of the  _ weirdest  _ looking people he’s ever seen in his life. 

 

The person was like an ancient fish, rusty blue and white colored skin with various golden piercings looped through its face and arms, like ornaments that should be hung on a Christmas tree. Its arms were webbed from the elbow down, fins dipping into its skin. The hands revealed frog-like fingers, with the exception of razor sharp nails that jutted out like kitchen knives. It wore silver armor and held a carved platinum spear which seemed unnecessary since it already had  _ dagger  _ hands.

 

Keith’s voice caught in his throat as he realized this person was _very_ _angry_ at him. It took a moment to process that it was _speaking_ , a deep baritone with a muffled accent that sent shivers down his spine. Its native language was probably scarier, he guessed. 

 

“ _ Red paladin. Lotor is here to talk to you and your blue friend. Do not anger him, or you will receive discipline,” _ it said, sharp blue eyes glowing under its crested jewel helmet _.  _

 

Lance had blue eyes too, which he much prefered to this marine creature. 

 

Keith was helpless to do anything but nod, wanting to catch Lance’s gaze again. He tried to move his head around the creature to get a glance of his teammate, but it was so buff and tall there was no possibility. 

 

He was nervous, but sent that feeling down somewhere deep inside him to never emerge again. Keith glared at the fish-person. 

 

“Where are we? Why are you doing this?” He questioned, sweat trailing his face. 

 

“ _ All concerns will be addressed if you cooperate, human. Lotor will be here soon to question you. Do not anger him,”  _ it repeated. 

 

It then turned to the hallway, glaring at Lance as he caught his eye, and left. They both exhaled deeply as it disappeared around the corner and left them in silence.

  
  
  


“O-oh. Okay. Uncool, man,” Lance managed to squeak out. 

 

Keith balled his hands into fists behind his back, clanging the chains together. “I guess we’ll have a royal meeting with the prince, today.”

 

“Yeah, not fun,” Lance said, gulping.

  
They sat there for a while before the Cuban boy spoke up again, quietly.

 

“Um, Keith?” 

He turned his head to face his feet; something seemed to be troubling him. 

 

Keith mumbled a half-hearted “mmh?” Something in the other teenager’s voice make his attention raise in interest. 

 

“Do you know how long minutes are in space?”

 

Keith stared, not expecting such a question. “What?”

 

Lance looked uncomfortable, moving his shoulders to rest in a better position. 

 

“Ah, that probably doesn’t make sense. I don’t know, like… you know how time is different on each planet? So maybe while we were here for a minute, an hour has passed on Earth.”

 

The red paladin tilted his head, pondering what Lance had said. Keith had read something about planets and time relative to Earth, and had seen a couple of documentaries regarding the subject. It was concerning to think about, so he usually tried to ignore the distressing potential leaving Earth had left them with. This was the first time he heard Lance talk about it.

 

“I guess that’s possible. We can’t tell where we are, for all we know, years have gone by without us noticing.”

 

Lance let out a distressed noise. Keith felt bad, so he continued.

 

“But hey, maybe it’s the opposite,” he said. The blue paladin kicked the pebbles by his feet, crestfallen. His eyebrows tilted upward.

 

“Maybe an hour here is a minute on Earth, so it feels longer for us. Uh, I guess that’s worse since we’re captured but…”

 

Keith tried focusing on the dripping of the moss to feel less awkwardly bad at this. The other boy seemed to notice, and mercifully offered the red paladin a bit of alleviation. 

 

“Yeah, sorry, it was a dumb question. Thanks, Keith.” Lance smiled, a lopsided grin that spread across his face. 

 

It was contagious, as were many aspects of Lance’s personality, and Keith smiled back. 

 

_ It wasn’t dumb at all _ . 

 

Keith had never been ideal when it came to comforting others, but he tried to step in whenever it felt right. Shiro had given him his share of brotherly affection, but Keith knew he’d never be able to completely replicate it. Somehow, it only seemed to be Lance who’d come to him for any consolation, if he had any shred of dignity left. 

 

A tapping down the hall could be heard, snapping the boys out of their conversation. 

 

There stood a tall, white haired prince who leaned against the cells next to them with a claw-like gloved hand on his hips. 

 

“My apologies, paladins. I wouldn’t want to intrude.”

 

_ “Lotor!”  _

 

Keith heard Lance struggle against his bounds. 

 

The prince walked smoothly up to their cells, and let out a melodic laugh. He wore engraved purple armor to match his complexion, and his hair was pulled up into a smooth ponytail. Keith was able to see tiny designs carved into the material, and had no doubt believing Lotor forced some poor slave to make his clothing. 

 

He looked to Keith, and then Lance. He seemed to find amusement in seeing them so vulnerable.

 

“I see you have found enjoyment chained up like that, no?” Lotor smirked while showcasing his pointy, white teeth. He snaked an arm around the bars of Keith’s cell. 

 

“What do you want from us, Lotor? Your father is dead, you should be satisfied,” the raven growled. 

 

The Altean prince’s purple ears twitched, irked. He gripped the bars tighter, eyes glowing in the darkness to meet Keith’s. 

 

“Oh, but I’m not, dear boy. You see, the lions are the only remains of my homeland I have left. Everything that was in my parents’ possession now belongs to me. The black lion belonged to my father, if you didn’t know.”

 

“I did.”

 

Lotor smiled again, dangerously forced. 

_ “Then you should understand, paladin.” _

 

Keith saw Lance shuffle around in the chains, looking irritated at the position of his hands. The way he was chained prevented any movement of his arms, and he was forced to bend so he was kneeling. The blood seemed to have fully dried on his face, making him look slightly older for reasons Keith couldn’t explain. 

 

“Sorry, but could you explain why you still have us in here? I really don’t see how  _ we  _ fit into the picture,” Lance spoke up. 

 

Keith wanted to tell him not to anger the prince, but he guessed he should follow his own advice too. They both were hot-headed, after all. 

Maybe they’d work on that later.

 

Lotor turned to stare at Lance, eyes glimmering with recognition. He lifted a hand to his chin. “Hm? Oh, blue paladin. I remember you from our little brawl on that planet.” He wiggled his sharp fingers, tapping the stone on the wall. 

 

“What?” 

 

_ Is he mistaking Lance for Allura? _

 

“Sure, whatever. Answer the question,” Lance persisted, rolling his eyes.

 

Keith’s chest went cold as Lotor opened the blue paladin’s cell from pressing his hand on a pad by the wall. Lance looked small as the man loomed over him.

 

“I don’t believe you understand the position you’re in, boy.”

 

Keith could see sweat forming on the teenager’s bloody forehead. “O-oh, really? Uh, personal space, dude.” 

 

Lotor leaned forward to scan Lance’s face, looking intrigued as he did so. He touched the side of the Cuban’s face to move his hair. Keith felt a rush of protectiveness seep into his body.

Lance pulled back so fast he almost hit his head on the stone again. 

 

_ Get away from him. _

 

“You humans do not have pointed ears like us.”

 

“Oh my  _ quiznack!  _ Why is it always my _ ears _ ?” Lance groaned, looking genuinely annoyed. 

 

Lotor smiled, and Keith would’ve found the dialogue between them humorous if the situation wasn’t so dire. To much of Keith’s relief, the prince moved from Lance’s face over to his own cell. 

 

The red paladin never had a chance to talk to Lotor while they were allianced. He had always been doing  _ something _ , whether it was finding more planets to join the coalition, or if he was getting intel from his father to share with the team. The man found a way to snake himself out of every conversation starting with “why are you helping us?” The paladins simply had to put hope in the man, which proved difficult the first couple weeks. 

 

Keith didn’t think that Lotor even fully gained their trust. It felt more like a cooperative acknowledgement that “yes, we will fight with you to complete our one similar goal,” instead of a blossoming friendship. 

 

Since neither Keith nor Lance had any actual information on the man, they couldn’t tell what he wanted. 

 

“How would you two like to join my army?”

 

_ What? _

 

“What?” Lance deadpanned, face morphing into a scowl. 

 

“No way,” Keith said almost immediately. There was  _ no quiznacking way  _ they were going to join this man. This wasn’t a matter of betraying Shiro and the rest of their team, this was about honor. 

 

“If you think we’re that easy to fool, you’ve got another thing coming,” Lance growled out. 

 

Lotor paused and looked at the two paladins before sighing deeply. 

 

“I guess we’ll have to do this the hard way,” he said. “Guards!”

 

Keith’s eyes widened as soon as Lotor yelled down the hall, resulting in two large fishmen to emerge from the darkness. He and Lance caught each other’s eyes as the red paladin’s cell door was opened. He felt small as the guards grabbed at his chains, unlocking them with a few metallic  _ click _ s.

 

“Keith!” 

 

Lance was cursing at the creatures as they hoisted Keith up to his feet, and he wobbled from the sudden movement. He stumbled while they dragged him out of the cell, glaring at Lotor. 

 

Keith tried to move his arms, but they felt numb at his sides. 

 

“What are you going to do?” The raven coughed out, suddenly feeling very light headed.  _ It must be from sitting down for so long.  _

 

“ _ Ryibani _ , strap him to the table.” Lotor said, expression cold. 

 

They manhandled Keith onto the stone table in the middle of the room as he struggled, feeling weak from the previous battle. Somehow his legs weren’t working as well as they should’ve, and his arms were toothpicks compared to the fish creatures _. _

 

He heard Lance protest loudly as they strapped his shoulders and calves down. Keith wanted to yell, but all of his remaining strength sucked out of him as they pushed him down. 

 

“What are you-“ Keith’s mouth was promptly bound with a rag, and he tried not to choke on the fabric.

 

“Stop!” Lance shouted, sounding very panicked. Keith wanted to tell him not to worry, but that would probably be the wrong thing to say. 

He usually said the wrong things. 

 

_ It was easier to speak with actions. _

 

“Hey, don’t hurt him!” 

 

Lotor looked annoyed at Lance’s repetitive yelling, and murmured something to a guard. Keith let out an alarmed noise as a  _ Ryiban _ entered the blue paladin’s cell. 

 

Lance seemed to mirror Keith’s fear as the creature got closer to him, raising his spear. He looked like a deer in the headlights, a cornered animal while the fishman’s shadow overpowered him. 

 

Keith thrashed against the table.

 

The red paladin’s eyes widened as the weapon hit Lance sideways in the stomach, causing the boy to wheeze in pain. Keith desperately wanted him to stop, to stop yelling for him, but it was too late now.

 

Lance slumped, unconscious. 

  
  
  


_ Keith ran into the room along with three of his teammates and the Altean princess. The Balmeran crystal was less vibrant and broken into messy pieces, decorating the floor of the main area. Everyone was coughing as they entered, throwing arms over their faces as they scanned the wreckage. _

 

_ His eyes widened as he saw the princess’ advisor shakily rise to his knees from the dusty ground. He wheezed, and rested an arm on his leg.  _

 

_ The other paladins went to help him, supporting his arms as they frantically asked him what happened.  _

 

_ “I-I’m not sure,” he stuttered out, disoriented.  _

 

_ Keith searched the room for their blue paladin, wondering where the other teenager had wandered off to until… _

 

_ “Lance!” Shiro called out as he ran to a crumpled form on the ground. Lance did not answer, silence cutting through his chest like a silver bullet.  _

 

_ Wasn’t Lance always the one talking? Why wasn’t he talking now? _

 

_ He lay still, and for a frightening moment Keith thought he might have died, and he was looking at a lifeless body.  _

 

_ Keith could be looking at the corpse of his teammate, and it was Lance. The confusing, but intriguing boy from his class at the Garrison.  _

_ He imagined Shiro and the rest of his short lived team arriving at Lance’s home, wherever it was, and explaining to his parents that his son died from an explosion in space. _

 

_ He imagined his parents, the ones Keith himself never had, mourning a lost son. _

 

_ Maybe they would have blamed his team, and Keith wouldn’t have had much to say. Things could’ve changed if they had kept a closer eye on the boy, made sure he didn’t end so tragically, in pain and burned all over his smooth tan skin.  _

 

_ Keith was thrown into reality as he heard a soft noise. _

 

_ Lance stirred a bit, not waking up, but it still sent a wave of aching relief inside of Keith’s veins. The boy groaned as Shiro held up his neck, and the red paladin almost ran up to him, but remembered his place. _

 

_ He and Lance weren’t friends then, so what were they? _

  
  
  


“Paladin, are you considering joining me, or being tortured until you are forced to do so?” 

 

Keith realized he must have been zoning out, eyes blurry, and tried to say something under his gag. 

 

_ “They’re both losing situations for me, jerk. _ ”

 

It came out as an indignant groan, and Lotor smirked.

 

He scanned the room for Lance, and his eye caught on the slumped form in the cell next to the table he was strapped to. The blue paladin looked virtually uninjured, but Keith had a feeling bruises were blooming where he had been struck. Those fishmen looked very strong, so a blow hard enough to knock Lance out must have hurt  _ a lot. _

 

_ Okay, focus on getting Lance and yourself out of here. _

 

He looked at the Galran handprint by one of the cells. Keith remembered the time he activated an enemy doorway with his alien blood relation, so maybe if he escaped…

 

He turned to Lotor, eyes fiery, and continued to struggle. The man looked unimpressed and turned his to face an odd container of liquid. 

 

Lotor seemed to sense Keith’s confusion, and rested his hip on the table. 

 

“Modified  _ quintessence _ , paladin.”

 

Keith raised an eyebrow, dread building in his stomach. Lotor took the hint and began explaining, to his chagrin.

 

“Once I inject this into your blood, you will be overwhelmed in your darkest fears of your mind,” he said, looking thoroughly bored as he spoke. 

 

Keith bristled.  _ He thinks he can just do what he wants, like Lance and I aren’t bothered by this.  _

 

“Since you refused quite demandingly, I am inclined to weaken your state of mind. After all, you chose not to join my army, but that does not mean that I’ll let you leave freely. I have three of the lions, and I could easily go and steal the others,” Lotor threatened, frowning. 

 

Keith wanted to struggle, but felt his strength decrease from the straps. Lotor’s demotivizing monologue wasn’t really helping his moral, either. 

 

The man grabbed a syringe and began filling it with the weird quintessence. He said it was modified, and his  _ what  _ would be revealed? Keith knew he was pretty self-aware, but...

 

“It won’t hurt to have some fun, will it?” Lotor grinned and lowered the needle to Keith’s pale skin. 

 

“Even if you die,” he said.

 

Keith thrashed against his bonds, and tried to worm away from the impending syringe, nearly touching his arm. 

 

_ “You’re only thinking of yourself, as usual,” Shiro scolded. _

 

Lotor laughed and the needle went in. 

 

His glowing eyes were the last thing Keith saw before passing out.

  
  
  



End file.
